The Key
by Hoplite39
Summary: When Buffy meets the Sucker Punch girls in the Blue's brothel, she realises that they could be powerful allies. By helping them capture the key to their freedom, Buffy hopes Baby Doll and her friends will also help save her sister from the clutches of Glory and her minions, thus saving the world.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR SUCKER PUNCH

CHAPTER 1 - PROLOGUE

OPERATION KITCHEN KNIFE

"Noooo!" Cried Rocket as she lay on the floor of the train.

In despair, Rocket watched as the reactivated automaton place it's hand over the control panel. She realised there was nothing she could do to stop the automaton from reactivating the bomb. She wouldn't have time to stop it. They were about to fail their mission.

Until that point, operation Kitchen nife had gone well. The mission given by the old man was to deactivate and capture the bomb before it reached and destroyed the city. With the defending automatons neutralised and the bomb secure, they were on the brink of success. All Amber had to do was lift it away with her helicopter.

In only a few minutes BabyDoll, Sweet Pea and Rocket had boarded the train, quickly cleared the carriages of the humanoid automatons inside and reached the compartment where the bomb was held. They had blown the roof off the train, deactivated the bomb and secured it to ropes attached to the helicopter. After releasing the bolts holding the bomb on the floor, they were ready for Amber to transport it away.

But when Amber tried to fly upwards away from the train, the bomb would not move. After a quick inspection, Rocket immediately realised what the problem was. There was still one bolt fixing the bomb to the floor of the train. The bomb had been held fast to the floor by several bolts. Rocket and Sweet Pea had removed them. But in their haste to finish the mission, the two sisters had missed one. Rocket crouched down to release the final bolt. And that was when it almost all went wrong. When the crippled automaton almost reactivated the bomb.

Almost.

During the battle on the train, the upper body of the last automaton to be slain was thrown into the compartment where the bomb was held. All that was left of it was a head, a torso and two arms. Seeing the lights had gone out of the automaton's eyes, Rocket assumed it was deactivated. She was wrong. And she almost paid a high price for that mistake.

Just as Rocket finished detaching the last bolt from the floor, the automaton suddenly came to life again. Before Rocket could react, the automaton struck her in the head with its fist, sending her flying back to the floor and damaging the jet-pack strapped to her back.

Momentarily dazed by the automaton's attack, Rocket only barely heard the shout of "We have company!" through her comm, followed by the sound the helicopter door-gun and rockets opening fire on some unseen attackers from above. She was also only barely aware of Sweet Pea and Baby Doll opening fire against another squad of automatons that had boarded the back of the train.

With horror, Rocket could only watch as the reactivated automaton scrambled onto the bomb, put the palm of its robotic hand on the control panel and started to reactivate the count-down. But the automaton never finished the rearming process. Just before the last arming bolt clicked into place, a throwing axe came hurtling through the air and smashed into the automaton's head, knocking it from the control panel.

From her position on the roof of the train, the alert Baby Doll noticed the danger and swiftly sent a bullet from her Colt M1911A1 pistol through the automaton's head. This time it was deactivated for good.

With elation and relief, Rocket realised that the bomb was still disarmed. They might be able to complete the mission after all. Rocket scambled to her feet, picked up her Heckler & Koch UMP45 submachine gun and rushed to the door of the compartment they were in.

When Rocket reached the doorway, she raised her UMP45 ready to face the enemy attack. But the attack didn't come. Someone else had reached the automatons first.

Rocket stared in amazement as she watched the figure of an unknown blond girl fighting hand-to-hand against a dozen or so automatons in the next carriage. With a curved sword in one hand and an axe in the other, the girl nimbly parried and dodged the automatons as they tried to strike her. But they had no chance. The girl was just too fast and too agile for them. Ducking below the attempted blow of one automaton, she chopped away its legs with her axe, before spinning round and beheading another behind her.

A third automaton tried to shoot her with a pistol. But the girl dodged nimbly to one side and the bullet smashed into the head of its comrade standing behind her. The automaton with the pistol didn't have the chance to fire a second shot. With five quick slashes from her melee weapons, the automaton was rapidly dismembered and decapitated. Before its headless and limbless body crashed to the floor, the girl had already turned to block the attack of the next automaton as it tried to strike her with its rifle.

Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, the girl expertly spun, parried and dodged the seemingly clumsy attacks of the automatons surrounding her. With consummate ease, the girl athletically danced and skipped between them, evading their attacks and effortlessly striking them down. One by one, the automatons fell to the girl's deadly blows.

On a hand signal from Sweet Pea, she and Rocket moved forward with guns raised and opened fire on the remaining automatons in the carriage. Soon all the automatons were gunned or struck down until there was nothing left but a pile of twisted metal lying on the floor by the feet of their unexpected ally.

Rocket and Sweet Pea moved forward towards the girl who was still standing in a fighting stance, her bowed head and long blond hair concealing her face. Rocket and Sweet Pea approached her cautiously. They weren't sure who she was, nor whether she was there to help or hinder them.

"Who are you?" Demanded Sweet Pea.

The girl raised her head.

"It's me Buffy. Buffy Summers."

Sweet Pea and Rocket looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. Sweet Pea nodded and both girls lowered their weapons.

"What are you doing here, Buffy?" Sweet Pea frowned.

"I came to help." Buffy strode forward towards the bomb. "Let's get this thing out of here."

As she walked past the two sisters, Buffy shoved a spare rocket pack into Rocket's arms. Then she jumped up onto the deactivated bomb, before leaping up onto the train roof beside Baby Doll. Rocket quickly put on the new jet pack, before taking up a defensive position with Sweet Pea by the compartment door. From above, the sound of gunfire and explosions filled the air as the helicopter door-gun continued to fire.

"Hey, you guys." Blondie's voice came over the comm. "Will you hurry up. We can't hold them off forever."

At the sound of Blondie's voice, Rocket and Sweet Pea looked at each other and laughed in delight. Blondie hadn't originally come on the mission. But somehow she was here.

Another group of automatons boarded the back of the train.

"Buffy and I will take care of kitchen knife." Shouted Baby Doll from the train roof. Kitchen Knife was the code word for the bomb. "You two hold them off."

Rocket and Sweet Pea nodded and turned back, ready to repel the automaton attack.

"OK. Take it up Amber." Shouted Baby Doll. The bomb started to rise into the air.

The automatons opened fire from the adjacent carriage. Rocket and Sweet Pea jumped back behind cover as bullets ricocheted around them. Rocket leaned out and fired several single shots from her UMP45. Three of the automatons crashed to the floor as their chests and heads were shattered by Rocket's well aimed shots.

"Sweet Pea! Rocket!" Amber's voice crackled over the comm. "Time to pull out!"

Sweet Pea retreated into the compartment. She didn't fire, aware that the automatons were too far away for her shotgun to be effective.

"Let's go Rocket." Shouted Sweetpea.

Rocket retreated from the door, continuing to fire her UMP45. Another four automatons crashed to the floor in a heap of shattered metal.

Rocket and Sweet Pea reached the centre of the compartment under the gap in the roof. As the automatons rapidly advanced towards them, the two sisters activated their rocket packs and they both shot up into the air.

As Rocket flew above the train, she saw with relief that the bomb was still firmly attached to the helicopter. From the helicopter door gun, Blondie fired a steady stream of high calibre tracer rounds at a few flying automatons that were attempting to reach the bomb. Each one that got close was shot out the air.

The city spread out below them. Rocket smiled and reflected that it was a glorious sight. There would be no tragedy today. The mission would be a success.

With the help of Buffy Summers, the kitchen knife was theirs. Now, there was only one item to get before they would all be free:

The key.


	2. Prophecy Girl

**A/N To understand this chapter, readers will probably need to be familiar with the Sucker Punch movie and the Prophesy Girl episode from season 1 of Buffy. Please note I made up the second half of the Pergamum Codex extract myself.**

CHAPTER 2 - PROPHECY GIRL

_"And in this time shall come the anointed one. And the Slayer will not know him and he will lead her into hell. And from the darkness a new slayer will arise to a new Dawn. And five more will follow her to Glory. Together they will master the key and open the gates to hell. And finally, they shall be free._

_PERGAMUM CODEX_

* * *

THE MASTER'S LAIR, SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA

"You tried. It was noble of you."

Buffy whimpered in terror as she heard the Master's voices speak softly into her ear. He was right there behind her. But she couldn't do anything to fight him. She could not move, paralysed by the Master's hypnotic powers and her own crippling fear.

"You heard the prophecy that I was going to break free and you came to stop me." The Master continued in his mocking tone. "But prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything."

Buffy whimpered again in terror as she felt the Master's mouth right beside her ear.

"You're the one who sets me free." He said softly in a gloating whisper. "If you couldn't come, I couldn't go."

Tears streamed from Buffy's eyes as she contemplated her failure. She had cause the apocalypse that would result in the death of billions. It was all her fault. Her shame and sorrow almost eclipsed her fear.

"Think about that." The Master whispered.

Buffy didn't have time to think about it for long. A few short seconds later, she felt the Master's fangs enter her neck and feed on her blood. Then she fell forward and collapsed face-down in a pool of water.

* * *

BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT, THREE DAYS BEFORE OPERATION KITCHEN KNIFE

Buffy woke with a start when she felt the cold liquid against her skin.

She tried to gasp for air, but found that her face was immersed in a pool of water, preventing her from breathing. She desperately tried to lift herself up, but found that she was paralysed and could not move a muscle. For a moment, she panicked as she realised that she was on the point of drowning. She was going to die.

"Hey, be more careful next time." Said a male voice. "You'll ruin the merchandise. Blue will want this one for the High-Roller."

A strong pair of hands grabbed Buffy under the arms and lifted her up. Moments later she found herself standing up, firmly held upright by two men dressed in suits. They roughly dragged her towards an imposing stone building with the name 'Lennox House' carved into the archway above the main entrance.

Buffy looked back at the large pool of rainwater where she had been lying. Buffy frowned with confusion. Only moments ago she had been in the Master's lair, led there by the boy-child known as the anointed one. The Master had bitten her neck and let her fall into a pool of dank dirty water. But now she found her outside, soaked to the skin in the pouring rain, as two unknown men dragged her into an ominous looking grey building.

Buffy felt drowsy and weak. It was as if she had been injected with a strong sedative. Her vision was also affected. Everything was dull and grey. The building, the clouds, the pool of water and even the men who held her all seemed to be coloured in varying shades of grey, as if she found herself a black and white movie. She wondered where she was and who these men were. She wondered where the Master was. And she wondered why she was not dead.

She didn't have time to ponder these questions for long. The two men dragged her through the heavy front doors and into the covered courtyard beyond. Buffy tried to struggle, but found that she could not break free. Whatever drug they had given her had sapped her strength. The men gripped her more tightly and forced her through a cage-like security door. They dragged her down some grey corridors until they entered a large room. There they let her go and stood behind her like two prison guards.

Buffy's vision and senses immediately cleared. The drug seemed to suddenly lose its affect, returning Buffy to complete lucidity in an instant. Colour returned to the world, even brighter than usual. Still confused, Buffy looked around to find herself standing in some sort of theatre chamber filled with colourful decor and furniture. There was a stage, a bar and seats for the audience. In front of her two men were talking.

Buffy didn't recognise the first man. He was of slim build, with short dark hair and a dark moustache. Buffy frowned as she looked at the man's clothing. The white suit he was wearing looked something out of the 1940s or 1950s. Like in one of these old gangster movies she had seen. She also noticed that the man was wearing a key round his neck. That made Buffy reach for the cross around her own neck. The cross that she had put on before going out to the prom. But it wasn't there.

"Here she is, Blue." Said one of Buffy's guards to the man in the white suit.

"Nice dress." Said Blue looking Buffy up and down.

Buffy realised that she was still wearing the dress that her mother had bought her for the prom. However, she was sure it didn't look nice. It was soaked from her fall in the pool and ripped in places from the rough man-handling the two guards had subjected her to. The man in the white suit smiled as he looked at Buffy. But it was not a friendly smile. It was more like a creepy leering grin, like the way a hungry cat would look at a sparrow. Buffy found herself shivering, but not from the wet or cold.

"Just make sure she doesn't escape." Said the second man standing with Blue. "It could cause problems for me. It could be bad for my career if she gets out."

"Don't worry, we have excellent security here?" Said Blue with confidence.

"Be careful." Said the second man firmly. "She is a trouble-maker."

Buffy inspected the man talking to Blue and immediately recognised him. Her eyes went wide in shocked as she realised who it was. It was the Master. He was in human form and wearing conventional human clothing. In fact, he appeared to be wearing Principal Snyder's clothes. But it was definitely the Master. There was no doubt.

"Why? what did she do?" Asked Blue with amused curiosity.

"She burned down the school hall during the school prom." Said the man who looked like the Master. "She caused fights at school. She has injured several other students and members of the public and caused significant damage to school property. She killed the school's pet preying mantis and killed a hyena at the zoo. Then only today, she assaulted the librarian. And when I was trying to restrain her, she fired a crossbow bolt at me."

"Looks like we have another for the High-Roller." Blue grinned at Buffy's two guards. They chuckled in return. "He likes girls with spirit."

"These high spirits make her unpredictable and dangerous." Said the man. "Just ensure that you keep her sedated until you can drill some discipline into her. She needs to know who the master is."

"Don't worry Head Master." Blue smirked." We'll look after her. We'll make sure that she learns some respect." Blue turned to Buffy. "Isn't that right Buffy?"

Buffy was only half listening to the conversation between the two men. She still didn't know where she was. Or who these men were supposed to be. She was sure none of this could be real and believed she must be hallucinating. She wondered if she had suffered some sort of concussion from her fall. Or more likely she was experiencing some sort of weird near death experience. Her subconscious rebuking her one last time for the guilt of releasing the Master and the apocalypse on the world.

"Just make sure you keep her under control. Her rebellious behaviour needs to be hammered out of her." The Master glared at Buffy in obvious hatred and contempt. "The previous Principal died because of her. Her father left home because of her. And being a single parent, her pathetic weak-willed mother just couldn't control her violent and erratic behaviour. Buffy turned her into an emotional wreck."

Up until that moment Buffy had been calm, listening to the men's conversation in confused curiosity. When she heard mention of her mother and father, she felt herself fill with anger. For just a moment, she saw the vampire Master before her. A monster she had to slay. With a scream of rage she launched herself at the Master and hit him full in the face with her fist.

Buffy realised immediately that she didn't have slayer strength here. But the last few months of combat training had not gone to waste. She knew how to strike a man and cause damage. Even with the limited strength of a teenage girl, the impact of the blow broke the Master's nose with a crunch, causing him to stagger back with a yelp. She prepared to hit him again, but the two guards grabbed and restrained her before she could throw another punch.

"You mad little bitch!" The Master shouted, holding his bloody nose. "You're insane. I'll see that you never leave this place."

Buffy squirmed and struggled in the grip of the two guards as she tried to get at the Master again.

"If I get out of here." She said. "I'm going to throw you on the biggest stake I can find."

"See. She's threatening me." Cried the Master. "I want her punished. I want her beaten for what she did to me."

Blue gave a signal to the two guards, indicating that they should take Buffy away. Blue was just managing to hide a smile. He obviously found the whole thing amusing. The two guards led Buffy away towards the stage where a few girls dressed in 1950s lingerie were watching her with curiosity. Buffy tried to struggle against the men, but they were too strong for her. They gripped her solidly and held her fast, causing pain in her arms.

Realising that she wouldn't break free, Buffy stopped resisting. For a moment she looked over to Blue and the Master. The Master was vigorously gesticulating towards her, while Blue tried to calm him. Eventually, the Master exited the theatre and Blue came over to where she was standing. Buffy wondered with apprehension what punishment Blue had for her. To Buffy's surprise, Blue showed no sign of anger or even malice when he arrived.

"Well, looks like we have another lively one. Just like Baby Doll." Blue smiled broadly and rubbed his hands." The High-Roller will have his hands full in four days. And my hands will be filled with cash."

Blue's two guards laughed. Buffy raised her eyes to the roof and shook her head.

"Well, the prophesy wasn't joking when it said I would be brought into hell." Said Buffy. "A hell of bad jokes."

Blue frowned and looked at Buffy with an amused look on his face.

"So what stands for punishment in this imaginary hell." Asked Buffy. She knew that she was being cheeky. But she really didn't think any of this was real and it would all dissipate at any time when she died in real life. "You won't want to disappoint his masterness."

"Oh, I'm not going to punish you." Blue caressed Buffy's hair. She flinched away from his touch. "We look after our girls here, don't we boys." The men laughed again. "And the high-roller doesn't appreciate his goods to be unnecessarily...damaged." Blue smirked and looked at Buffy with curiosity. "But the school head master is right about one thing. You will need to learn respect if you are to get on here."

Blue signalled to the two guards to let Buffy go. They released her and Buffy shook herself free from their grip.

"I hope we can be a bit more civilised from now on." Said Blue. "Are you willing to cooperate or do I need to restrain you permanently."

Buffy folded her arms and looked at Blue with a stern expression on her face. She didn't say a word. She realised there was no point in struggling and fighting when the world she was in didn't exist. There was no point in trying to escape. It would all disappear soon enough anyway. Blue took Buffy's silence to be a sign of agreement and signalled towards the young women standing on the stage.

"Hey, Amber. Come over here."

One of the girls dutifully jumped down from the stage and stood in front of them "Yes, blue?"

"Can you do me a favour, Amber." Said Blue almost politely. "Can you show this little Buffy girl around. Show her round the establishment."

"Yes, Blue."

The girl named Amber was a pretty young Asiatic woman with long brown hair. But it was Amber's clothing that caught Buffy's attention the most. She wearing a red corset and black stockings. They were not just clothes used for exercising. They were clearly designed to look erotic.

"Oh, I see. That's how you're going to punish me." Scoffed Buffy nodding at Amber's outfit. "I hope you're not going to make me dress like that. The cheerleading costume was bad enough. But that's just Moulin Rouge fashion hell."

As soon as she saw the disconsolate expression on Amber's face, Buffy regretted making her little quip. The girl tried to remain impassive, but Buffy could see that she was hurt by the comment. Although the girl was only a temporary figment of Buffy's imagination, Buffy felt guilty at making fun of her. After all, in this imaginary world poor Amber was obviously obliged to wear the outfit. She didn't have a choice.

Blue smirked. "Please gets started. I'll see you later in the dance hall."

"Come this way." Said Amber.

Amber led Buffy out of the theatre and into the grey corridors. At first, they didn't speak. Buffy realised how aggressive she must have looked to the other girls in the theatre, hitting the Master and making cheeky comments to Blue. Amber was probably nervous about talking to Buffy in case Buffy insulted or even attacked her. However, despite Amber's nervous silence, Buffy sensed no hostility from her. So Buffy decided to try and be friendly. Buffy was sure that it wouldn't be long until this imaginary purgatory dissipated. But that was no excuse for Buffy to be nasty to someone who had caused her no harm, even if that person was a figment of her imagination.

"How long have you been here, Amber?" Asked Buffy, as cordially as she could.

"About two years." Answered Amber.

"Where're you from?" Buffy smiled at her.

"Cleveland." Buffy was relieved to see the girl smile back when she answered. "And you Buffy?"

"Sunnydale in California." Said Buffy.

"From the west coast." Amber frowned. "That's far."

Buffy shrugged. Dream worlds had no logical rules. She knew that first hand. Not long before her encounter with the Master, she and her friends from Sunnydale had ended up living their nightmares. This was little different.

"Do you have family back home?" Asked Amber. "Brothers or sisters?"

"No, I'm an only child." Replied Buffy. "I lived with my mom. And you?"

"No." Said Amber. "I'm all on my own."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's OK." Amber shrugged. "At least some of the girls here are nice. And Blue looks after us."

Buffy looked at Amber expecting to see some sort of indication of sarcasm. To her Blue seemed like a selfish exploitative creep. But Amber maintained a straight face. Apparently, she was being serious. Buffy felt a wave of pity for her.

The girls reached a doorway and Amber took Buffy into a grubby looking kitchen area where a fat cook was chopping vegetables with a large kitchen knife.

"This is the kitchen." Said Amber. "We have to do chores here sometimes."

"Chores in the kitchen." Said Buffy. "Great. I thought I would get out of that when I died."

Amber glanced at Buffy with curiosity, but didn't say anything. They left the kitchen and Amber led Buffy further down the corridor.

"Watch the cook." Whispered Amber. "He is really creepy. And he can be violent. So be careful. Try not to find yourself alone with him."

Buffy smirked at that. All the men she had in met this place so far were violent or creepy. But not wanting to upset Amber, she didn't say anything.

Amber opened another door to reveal a small cupboard-like room with lots of packages, bottles and miscellaneous items stored in it.

"This is the store room." Said Amber. "We keep some of the food and cleaning stuff in here."

Buffy entered the cupboard and immediately felt that there was something strange about the place. It was as if this room was not part of the rest of the buildings. As if it was in a different world.

"This is different." Said Buffy, looking around at the roof and walls.

"Yes, it is not part of the original building." Smiled Amber. "It was built later."

Buffy put her hand on the wall of the store room. She began to hear the sound of voices in her head. The voices of Giles, Willow, Xander, Angel, her mother and others she knew in Sunnydale. Buffy couldn't make out what they were saying. Their words were all jumbled up and overlapping making them no more than an incoherent mumble.

"But don't think about trying to escape from here." Amber was oblivious to what Buffy was experiencing. "The walls are more solid than the other part of the building. In fact, Blue sometimes shuts us in here if we misbehave or disappoint his guests."

Buffy only half heard Amber speak, mesmerised as she was by the multiple voices in her head which seemed to intensify in volume and speed. That caused a wave of sadness and regret to wash through Buffy as she remembered all that she had lost. She pulled her hand quickly away from the wall.

Buffy looked round at Amber who smiled at her sympathetically.

"It's not so bad here." Said Amber. "We are clothed and fed. We get everything we need."

"Let's get out of here." Buffy moving swiftly out of the cupboard. "That place gives me the creeps. Even more so than everything else."

The two girls walked down the corridor and went through a door into a different part of the building. Here the decor and atmosphere was different. The bare grey corridors were gone, replaced by coloured furnishings and carpets. Paintings hung on the scarlet coloured walls and old style furniture was placed strategically at various points along the corridors.

"What is this place?" Buffy frowned. The building they were in was unconventional to say the least. From what she had seen, some parts were like a prison or correctional facility. In fact, some of it reminded her of the mental asylum where she had spent some time before moving to Sunnydale. On the other hand, the part of the building where she was now seemed more like a fancy hotel. It was lavishly decorated as if to impress members of the public or important guests.

"You mean, you don't know?" Amber opened another door and led Buffy inside.

The room was finely furnished with a large bed that had scarlet sheets laid out on it. There were mirrors all round the room, on the ceiling and on the walls.

"This isn't my bedroom, is it?" Said Buffy. "Because I'm not really hot on the retro decor. And that colour is really really bad." Buffy scrunched up her nose as she looked round at all the mirrors. "But at least I don't have to worry about vampires hiding in here. Although, I'm sure Lestat would love it."

Amber sat on the bed and look at Buffy in mild amusement. She clearly had no idea why Buffy was referring to vampires.

"No, Buffy this is not your bedroom." Amber giggled. "We sleep in the dorms. This is where we entertain Blue's guests."

Buffy's eyes went wide in alarm. She didn't like the sound of that. Then she looked at the furnishings in the bedroom and realised what this place was.

"Entertain doesn't mean what I think it does?" Ask Buffy.

Amber nodded with a melancholic expression on her face. She pressed a switch on a control panel and the bed started to revolve round. Buffy stared in horror at the bed and mirrors. Her fears were realised. At first, Buffy had assumed she was in some sort of bizarre new-age alternative correctional facility dreamt up by her near death imagination. But now she knew that wasn't the case. She was in brothel and destined to be a sex slave.

"This whole place is a front for Blue's activities. Drugs. Firearms. That sort of thing." Said Amber. "Blue invites his business partners here. We provide...services..to his guests to help with his business deals."

"Of all the movies that my near death experience could have been from..." Buffy rolled her eyes. "...mine had to be taken from The Best Little whorehouse in Texas. And by the way, don't ever tell my friends that I've seen that movie."

Amber frown with amusement. "We're in Vermont, not Texas."

"Yeah, like that makes it better." Said Buffy. "Not only am I a sex-slave in retro-hell, but it's also cold."

Amber looked down at the floor as if ashamed. Again, Buffy regretted making that comment. Although she was certain Amber was imaginary, she could't help feeling bad for hurting her feelings. Especially as Amber seemed to be a genuinely friendly girl who was nice to her.

Another thought then crossed Buffy's mind. If this was a brothel and she was a sex-slave, then who was the high-roller. Buffy had initially assumed that he was some sort of specialised doctor or psychologist. But now she realised that he may be coming for other motives.

"And who is this high-roller guy?" Asked Buffy.

"He is one of Blue's best clients." Answered Amber. "He especially likes young girls who are virgins."

Buffy stared at Amber in horror as she realised what that meant. Blue was going to give Buffy to some old rich guy as a gift. Or more precisely, he was going to give him her virginity. Buffy reflected that the Pergamum Codex wasn't joking when it said that the anointed one would lead her into hell. She never imagined that hell would be a retro style cabaret brothel where a wrinkly old pervert would snatch her virginity from her. It seemed her near-death imagination really was going to put her through humiliation and torture for releasing the Master and bringing the apocalypse down on the world.

"Now, I really regret dying a virgin." Said Buffy, shaking her head.

"Why are you always talking about death, Buffy?" Amber stood up and looked over at her. Buffy could see a mix of anxiety and concern on Amber's face.

"I'm sorry." Said Buffy. "It's been a really difficult day."

"Yeah, I understand." Said Amber. "I get these too. Come on lets go to the dance hall. I'll introduce you to the others. You can meet Baby Doll. She is new too."

The two girls left the bedroom and walked down the corridor towards the dance hall.

Buffy hoped that Blue wouldn't expect her to dance and sing in front of everyone in the dance hall. Otherwise, it really would be hell. And not just for her.


	3. The Dance

CHAPTER 3 - THE DANCE

Before going to the dance studio, Amber took Buffy to a dressing room where she could get some new clothes. Buffy was relieved at the idea of changing out of her white dress which was damp and uncomfortable from her fall in the pool of rain water earlier that day.

"I'm sure you can find something that fits in here." Amber opened a closet.

Buffy stared at the selection of corsets, leotards, stockings, pantyhose and other pieces of lingerie that were available.

"The selection is rather...er...limited. I wouldn't mind something with..er.." Buffy picked up a bright red lace corset. "...more material. And something more modern. Like from the 1970s perhaps."

"It's all Blue allows us to wear." Amber looked at Buffy disconsolately.

"When you said Blue clothed you..." Buffy screwed up her face as she picked up a sexy nurse costume."...you were joking, right?"

Amber shrugged. "That's all there is I'm afraid, Buffy."

Buffy had a good idea why Blue made the girls dress like this. It not only demonstrated his power over them, but it would also make it difficult for the girls to get far if they should try to escape. Buffy didn't like the idea of running about in chilly Vermont wearing nothing but a skimpy lace leotard and a pair of fishnets. And she imagined the other girls would feel the same way too.

But Buffy knew she had to wear something. So with a sigh of resignation, she selected a modest looking black leotard and grey leggings.

"Could be worse." Said Buffy as she looked in the mirror. "At least I can pretend I'm in Fame or Flash Dance or something."

When Buffy and Amber entered the dance studio, the other girls from the brothel were all there wearing a mixture of lingerie and exercise clothes. They were watching one of the girls dancing in the centre of the room as a middle aged woman wearing old fashioned clothes looked on.

"That's Sweet Pea." Whispered Amber pointing to the girl who was dancing. "She is the star of the show."

"And who is the woman coaching her?" Asked Buffy.

"That's Madame Gorsky. She works for Blue. She directs the show and manages our performance."

Buffy didn't want to imagine what sort of 'performance' that Madame Gorsky expected of them.

Amber took Buffy over to three girls who were standing watching Sweet Pea practice.

"Everyone this is Buffy. She is new here." Whispered Amber.

The three girls smiled and nodded at Buffy.

"This is Blondie." Amber introduced Buffy to a pretty young woman with long dark hair.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Blondie smiled slyly.

Buffy wondered why a girl with dark hair would be called Blondie. Amber quickly moved to the next girl who had spiky blond hair.

"This is Rocket. She is Sweet Pea's sister." Said Amber.

"Hi." Rocket smiled warmly at Buffy.

Amber moved onto the the third girl. She also had blond hair and was wearing some sort of school girl outfit.

"And this is Baby Doll." Said Amber. "She is new like you. She only arrived yesterday."

"Hi there." Said Baby Doll. Despite Baby Doll's attempt to smile, Buffy could see that she was anxious and terrified. Buffy didn't blame her. If Buffy hadn't known that this was just an imaginary universe, she may have felt the same way too.

"It's nice to meet you all." Said Buffy.

After the introductions, Buffy moved slightly away from the other girls. Buffy realised it was impolite, especially as the girls had been friendly to her. But she was sure that this was only an imaginary dream world and didn't want to get too close to people who would soon disappear. She would lose enough real friends when she died in real life. She didn't want to make imaginary friend as well, only to lose them too.

Amber moved over to Buffy with a concerned expression on her face.

"You can stay with us, if you like." Said Amber. "The girls are nice."

"Thanks, Amber." Said Buffy. "But I just want to be alone for now."

"Sure, Buffy."

Amber returned to where the other girls were standing. Buffy could make out what they were saying to each other.

"What's wrong with her?" Asked Blondie.

"She just wants to be alone for now." Replied Amber.

"Seems kind of snooty." Said Blondie.

"No. She's OK." Said Amber. "She acts brave. But I think she's just frightened. She keeps talking about death. I'm worried about her."

"You worry about everyone, Amber." Giggled Blondie.

Buffy was intrigued at her meeting with the girls. She had expected the girls to be mean, cynical and bitchy due to the difficult circumstances in which they lived. But that was not the case. Despite their desperate situation, they had a gentleness which warmed Buffy to them.

Buffy's attention was soon diverted over to the centre of the room where Sweet Pea was still carrying out some dance moves under the direction of Madame Gorsky. It was clear that Madame Gorsky was not happy.

"Stop!" Said Madame Gosky. "Stop!"

Sweet Pea stopped dancing and looked at Madame Gorsky.

"Where are you right now?" Continued Madame Gorsky. "Are you with us?"

Madame Gorsky signalled Sweet Pea to leave the cente of the hall. "Sweet Pea take a break."

After Sweet Pea reluctantly walked over to the side of the hall, Madame Gorsky called over Baby Doll who nervously walked into the centre of the dance studio. At that moment, Blue entered the room flanked by two bodyguards. As before, the men were all dressed in elegant old fashioned suits

"I'm going to play you some music, OK." Madame Gorsky said as she walked over to an old style tape recorder at the side of the hall. "I want you to just relax, feel the music, open your heart to it. Let it in. And when you are ready, I want you to dance."

Babydoll looked at Madame Gorsky and then round the room. As Buffy saw the look of fear, anxiety and hopelessness on Baby Doll's pretty face, she felt a wave of pity for the young blond woman.

Madame Gorsky switched on the tape recorder and the music started to play. Everyone waited expectantly. But Baby Doll did not dance. With a sigh, Madame Gorsky switched off the tape recorder and walked over to Baby Doll.

"If you do not dance. You have no purpose." Madame Gorsky spoke softly but firmly. "And we don't keep things here that have no purpose. You see your fight for survival starts right now."

Babydoll was in a wretched state. She looked like she was about to break down and burst into tears.

"You don't want to be judged. Continued Madame Gorsky. "You won't be. You don't think you're strong enough. You are. You're afraid. Don't be. You have all the weapons you need. Now fight!"

Madame Gorsky walked back over to the tape recorder. "Again!" She switched it on. The music started to play.

Not believing that Baby Doll would dance, Blue and his henchmen turned to leave. But just as they were about to exit the room, Baby Doll started to move. Seeing that Baby Doll would dance after all, Blue and his men turned back to watch.

As Baby Doll moved to the music, Buffy quickly realise that this was no ordinary dance performed by an ordinary girl. As Buffy's eyes looked upon the dancing Baby Doll, images flashed through her mind. It was as if Buffy was looking into another world. Another dimension.

In this other dimension, Buffy saw Baby Doll enter an Asian style temple and speak to an old man. The old man gave Baby Doll a box with a katana and a revolver in it. Then he told her to defend herself.

Looking confused and anxious, Baby Doll went outside and stood at the front of the temple. At the other end of the courtyard where she was standing, three giant Japanese samurai were waiting in the distance. Each one was about 12 foot tall, well armoured and armed to the teeth.

One of the giant samurai approached Baby Doll, dragging his long metal blade across the ground. Hesitantly, Baby Doll drew her katana not knowing how she was expected to fight against the snorting monster in front of her.

The giant did not hesitate to attack. With a roar of rage, the samurai kicked Baby Doll violently with his right foot, sending her flying back inside the temple. Baby Doll found herself skidding across the cold hard stone floor.

The giant stormed into the temple after Baby Doll and brutally struck her with his large blade. Baby Doll went flying back against the wall of the temple, smashing the masonry on impact. Buffy looked on in horrified shock as Babydoll received another couple of heavy blows from the giant's blade. However, although Baby Doll was violently thrown around by the samurai's attacks, she did not seem to be physically hurt. It was as if Baby Doll was invulnerable to damage in this other world.

As the samurai continued to batter Baby Doll, Buffy was worried that Baby Doll would be overwhelmed by the strength and aggression of her seemingly invincible opponent. But Baby Doll was not going to give up. Realising that she would have to fight to survive, Baby Doll began to employed super-human agility to dodge the samurai's attacks. And then when the opportunity presented itself, Baby Doll went on the counter-attack. And that is where the battle turned.

Buffy looked on in amazement as Baby Doll used super-human strength to blocked one of the Samurai's sword thrusts with her katana before delivering him a vicious slash to the knee. Crippled from the blow, the giant collapsed to his knees. With the giant now momentarily vulnerable to attack, Baby Doll leapt into the air and slashed his throat with her katana. With bright light flooding from the wound in his neck, the samurai crashed to the ground and lay still.

A second samurai giant immediately burst into the temple and fired a missile from a rocket launcher at Baby Doll. Baby Doll dodged the missile at the last moment and it explode in a ball of fire against the back wall of the temple.

Seeing that his first attack had failed, the giant quickly switched to a very large mini-gun and began to spray bullets at Baby Doll. Incredibly, Baby Doll managed to evade the projectiles, dodging and leaping with incredible agility between the columns of the temple as the giant blasted everything around her to pieces. Eventually, after dodging from cover to cover, Baby Doll managed to skip up the barrel of the giant's mini-gun and shoot him in the eyes with her revolver at point-blank range. With a bright light flooding from his wounds, the second samurai crashed to the ground.

Baby Doll walked out of the temple into the courtyard. The temple immediately collapsed in a heap of rubble behind her. This was a very different Baby Doll from the one that had first entered the fight. Gripping her katana with confidence, Baby Doll waited patiently for the attack of the third and final giant samurai.

After seeing the fate of his two companions, the third samurai hesitantly drew his bladed weapon. At last he rushed forward and charged towards Baby Doll. But he didn't stand a chance. Baby Doll created a whirlwind around herself and leapt in the air just as the samurai reached her. Baby Doll's katana sliced right through the samurai's armour and flesh as if he was made of butter. The giant collapsed to his knees with bright light streaming from a huge gash in his side, before crashing in a heap on the ground. Baby Doll landed nimbly on the paving stones of the courtyard. She looked up. Victory was hers.

With the last samurai giant defeated, the images from the Asian temple dissipated and disappeared. Buffy again found herself looking at Babydoll in the dance studio. All the females in the studio, including Madame Gorsky, burst into applause. Only Sweet Pea did not look content. Rocket, Amber and Blondie went over to Baby Doll and congratulated her, hugging her warmly. Blue and his two guards looked shell shocked, as if Baby Doll's dance had just blown their senses.

Buffy had enough experience with the supernatural to know that something unusual had just happened. She realised she could not remember one thing about Baby Doll's dance. She could only remember the images from the samurai temple. But there was something else. Buffy sensed that Baby Doll's fight against the samurai giants was in some way real. Buffy didn't know how or why. But she was sure that the fight was more than a dream or a vision. It was as if in some other reality, in another dimension, the fight had actually occurred and Baby Doll had actually killed three giant samurai. Somewhere in another plane of existence, three giant samurai were lying dead in the ruins of a temple. Buffy was sure of it.

Buffy didn't have time to ponder the strange phenomena for long. The dance studio soon calmed down after the euphoria caused by Baby Doll's dance. Madame Gorsky tapped her walking stick on the floor and called for order.

Madame Gorsky pointed at Buffy. "You! New girl. Step forward! You are next to dance."

Buffy felt the eyes of everyone one her. She did not move.

"Did you not understand?" Said Madame Gorsky's sternly. "Baby Doll has danced. Now it is your turn."

"No."

"No?" Madame Gorsky frowned. "What do you mean no?"

"I mean no." Repeated Buffy more firmly. "I refused to go to a dance with one of my best friends. I will certainly not dance for anyone else." Buffy pointed to Blue and his men. "And certainly not for them."

The room went silent. Everyone stared at Buffy. Madame Gorsky advanced to stand in front of her.

"If you don't dance, then you have no purpose…" Began Madame Gorsky.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Buffy smirked at her. " And you don't keep things that have no purpose. Well, I don't care. It's not as if any of this is real anyway."

Madame Gorsky looked nervously over at Blue who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. She turned to walk towards the tape recorder.

"I will start the music and you will dance…"

"No." Buffy stood defiantly also with her arms crossed over her chest. "I will not dance. I quit."

Madame Gorsky walked over to Buffy. "Please. You must dance."

"No. I won't do it."

"Please. I beg you." Buffy was surprised to hear the anxiety and worry in Madame Gorsky's voice. "If you don't dance, then I cannot help you."

"No." Said Buffy. "I won't."

Blue stepped forward flanked by his men.

"It looks like the new girl needs to be learn her place in this establishment." Blue spoke out loud so that the other girls in the studio could hear. "Such lack of respect will not be tolerated."

"I tell you what." Said Buffy. "I quit. Then you won't need to worry about my lack of respect anymore."

"No one quits." Said Blue. "Unless I say so."

Buffy smirked to herself. That was the second time that day a man had told her she couldn't quit. Giles had told her she couldn't quit being the slayer in Sunnydale. And now this Blue guy said she couldn't quit being a sex-slave in some Vermont cabaret brothel.

Blue signalled to his two men. "Lock her in the store room. She can reflect on her behaviour and learn some respect."

The two men advanced purposely towards Buffy. She waited until they were about five yards from her. Then she dropped into a fighting stance and moved into the centre of the dance hall. The men smiled. They did not take her seriously. Some of the girls in the room giggled.

"You want a dance?" Buffy smiled as she backed off from the two men. "I'll give you a dance."

Buffy glanced towards Amber and her friends. Rocket and Blondie were smiling, obviously relishing the confrontation. Amber had an expression of concern on her face. Baby Doll looked on in what could only be described as impassive curiosity. Sweet Pea looked furious.

One of the men launched himself at Buffy, but she easily evaded his grasped. The second man also tried to grab her, but found himself flailing fresh air. Buffy dropped into her fighting stance again and waited for their next move.

Buffy decided that she would not strike the men. She did not have slayer strength and did not believe she could defeat them. Also, if she stayed on the defensive, she had a better chance of evading them for a longer time. She could at least humiliate the men and demonstrate that they were not invincible. That would be her small victory here before she died in real life.

The men tried to grab Buffy another couple of times, but she easily evaded their clumsy efforts. Although, Buffy did not have slayer strength and speed, she was still a fit and athletic young woman trained in martial arts. Her agility was more than a match for the clumsy brute strength of the two men.

Realising that catching Buffy would not be so easy, the two men changed their tactics and tried to coordinate their attack. After circling her for a few seconds, the two men rushed her at the same time in an effort to grab her. Buffy summersaulted away at the last moment, causing the two men to collide into each other and land in a heap on the floor.

Some of the girls around the room laughed. The two men struggled up from the floor with an expression of humiliated fury on their faces. Blue watched on impassively.

The two men tried to catch her another three times, but Buffy was able to skip away from their grasp. The men became more and more furious as Buffy continued to humiliate them.

In the end it was Blue who caught her. In their last and fourth attack, Buffy skipped away again. But this time she landed in front of Blue who grabbed her and held her firm. The two men quickly rushed up to Buffy and restrained her. They turned her to face Blue.

"It seems that you are not as clever as you think you are." Said Blue

"Oh, I let you catch me." Replied Buffy. "Otherwise we'd be here all day. And Besides. None of this matters. None of this is real anyway."

"That's enough." Blue looked at Buffy grimly. Although Blue looked calm, Buffy could tell that he was boiling with rage underneath. "Take her to the store room. We'll see how real you find everything after lying in the dark for a couple of hours."

The two men gripped Buffy hard, hurting her arms, and dragged her away. Anxious to take revenge for the humiliation they had received from Buffy, the two men mercilessly bashed her against walls and door frames as they led her through the corridors of Blue's establishment.

When they reached their destination, the two men roughly shoved Buffy into the storeroom, causing her to fall against the shelves fixed to the wall. The impact caused a container of olive oil to fall, spilling its contents on the storeroom floor.

In fury, one of the men slapped Buffy hard on the face. Buffy collapsed to the floor, her head landing in the pool of olive oil.

"That'll teach the little bitch." One of the men said.

Buffy heard the door lock and the two men walk briskly away. She was left hurt and all alone in the pitch dark room. With her face lying in a pool of olive oil, Buffy felt darkness and pain envelope her. Until, at last, she fell into unconsciousness.

Buffy's last thought was that she was about to finally die. That now her spirit would rest in peace. That her time in purgatory had ended. But she was wrong. Buffy the vampire slayer had only just started to live, both in her own and in this other strange world.

* * *

_"Buffy, Buffy. Wake up Buffy."_

_Buffy saw the hazy image of a pre-teen girl desperately shaking her._

_"Please wake up, Buffy!"_

_Buffy didn't recognise the girl. But she was sure she knew her from somewhere. She just didn't know where from. As she tried to clear her vision, one word came into her mind. A word that sent a shiver down her spine._

_Dawn._

_Buffy tried to hold on to consciousness, but the vision of the girl dissipated. And everything went dark once again._

* * *

Buffy gasped and opened her eyes. She was in the Master's lair again, lying face up beside the side of the pool of water where the Master had left her for dead. Xander Harris was crouched over her. Angel stood nearby. She was alive.

"Buffy." Said Xander.

She coughed and choked up water. Xander caressed her forehead gently.

"Welcome back" Xander smiled with relief.

Xander and Angel helped Buffy to her feet.

"The Master." Asked Buffy.

"He's gone up." Replied Xander.

Buffy took a moment to gather her thoughts. She could still clearly remember the events in Blue's brothel. It must have been some sort of near-death dream. Yet everything seemed so real.

"Buffy. You're still weak." Said Xander. Both he and Angel were concerned. But neither wanted to say it openly. They both knew that the slayer didn't like being told what to do.

Buffy found herself thinking of Madame Gorsky's words to Baby Doll.

_'You see your fight for survival starts right now. You don't want to be judged. You won't be. You don't think you're strong enough. You are. You're afraid. Don't be. You have all the weapons you need.'_

Buffy realised that Madame Gorsky was right. Buffy had the strength and skill to fight and defeat the Master. She always did. Somehow her temporary death and her visit to Blue's brothel had unlocked the potential that was always within her.

"No. I feel strong." Buffy smiled. "I feel different."

Buffy remembered the fight between Baby Doll and the three samurai giants. At first, Baby Doll's adversaries had seemed invincible. But in adversity, Baby Doll had fought back from the brink of defeat and slain them. And with her newfound strength and confidence, that is exactly what Buffy would do with to the Master.

"Come on." Buffy said. "Let's go."

Buffy led Angel and Xander out of the Master's lair. Buffy knew she had all the weapons she needed to defeat the Master. His fate was sealed. The prophecy was right. The anointed one had led her into hell. And now she would bring that hell to the Master.

As Buffy stepped outside into the California summer night, one last phrase entered her head. The last thing Madame Gorsky said before Baby Doll's dance. It was a command, and one that the slayer would gladly obey.

_'Now fight!'_


End file.
